


I Think My Ultimate Talent May Be Wrong

by Hino



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Everyone is in this but it shifts focus a bit, Gen, Ghosts, Like literally we know who the mastermind is in chapter 2 we out here, Major Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-18 03:07:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15476286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hino/pseuds/Hino
Summary: 16 Students in a Killing Game, stuck locked inside a school until there are only two left.Shuichi Saihara is the Ultimate Detective.But considering Rantaro just died, yet he's standing over there...... Maybe he should be the Ultimate Ghost Whisperer.





	1. Chapter 1

From the moment the bookcase sensor went off, Shuichi should have known this would not end well.

The device beeped in his hand, startling him. They had been expecting the Mastermind to strike soon, given the fact that the time limit was almost up, and that damn video had been playing for long enough to drive even the most peaceful folk mad. Even Shuichi himself felt on edge, as if a surprise or a harsh enough word would lead him to a brawl.

Still, the fact that it actually went off had scared him. They really were in a killing game. There really was someone here.  
“Somebody moved the bookcase! Hurry Kaede!” Shuichi said, almost tripping over his words. His body locked up for a moment, confused about what to do, before rational thought kicked back in and he turned, sprinting out the door and down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Behind him somewhere, he could hear Kaede call for him to wait, but he refused to slow his pace. This could be their only chance to catch the Mastermind; catch whoever was behind this Killing Game as it had been described, and Shuichi couldn’t spare a moment for Kaede.

 

He came off the stairs awkwardly, tripping over his feet and hitting the floor before pushing himself back up. His knees ached from the harsh landing but that was the least important thing right now. Stumbling from the adrenaline, the small run, and the pain, Shuichi rested a hand on the doorknob, grasping it firmly and preparing to open it when Kaede landed at the bottom of the staircase, shoes clattering loudly on the tile floor.

Shuichi took a breath to calm himself, and Kaede copied, steeling her nerves. “Kaede,” he began, eyes sharp as he looked at her, full of focus, “let’s go inside.”

Kaede nodded. “Yeah!” Her hands balled into fists as she spoke, determination welling inside her as the door creaked with the slightest effort of being opened when-

 

“Huh? What are you guys doing here?”

Both of them paused, turning to look at Kaito and Tenko who had both rounded the corner, confused. They began to talk, the three of them, Kaede, Tenko, and Kaito, and Shuichi felt his irritation boil over.

“We’ll explain later,” he blurted out, grip on the door so tight it was starting to dig into his hand. “But right now, we need you to come with us. We... might really be able to end this killing game.”

Kaito gasped, although Shuichi didn’t hear what he or Tenko had to say. He was shaking, with nerves and anger, wanting to open the door and yet, not ready to see who was there.

“Ah-” Kaede gently pushed him aside, opening the door for them all. Shuichi felt himself be pulled into the room and let go, clenching and loosening his hand in some attempt to get feeling back into it. 

 

Inside the room, it was obvious that the bookcase had been tampered with. As Shuichi stepped in, just behind Kaede, he could see it slowly closing, settling back into place, much like it had done when they had first stumbled upon it. There was nobody there though; they had missed them entirely, and probably due to that confrontation in the hallway. Internally, Shuichi cursed for their plan not working.

“Where is... the mastermind?” He asked aloud, turning his gaze from side to side. It was possible they had missed them entirely, but maybe it was a red herring, and they-

Shuichi paused, looking at the tall ladder against the bookcase. Sitting all the way at the top, elbows resting on his knees, chin resting in his hands, was Rantaro Amami. He looked tired, frowning and with his gaze on the small spot where Kaede had set up her camera. “Rantaro...?” came Shuichi’s hesitant call. “Is that-”

“Oh, Rantaro...” Kaede’s voice was soft, and Shuichi turned, finding her instead gazing at the same place that the Rantaro on the ladder was. She was covering her mouth, eyes wide with shock, and beside her, he could see Tenko trying to offer some support.

Kaito spoke loud, an uneasy tone to his voice. “What in the world?! What the hell’s going on?!”

Tenko’s hand was on Kaede’s shoulder like a vice, digging into her both as comfort for the pianist, and emotional support for herself. Her gentle whimpers were deafeningly loud in the library, amplified by the sudden lack of music.

 

Her scream was what kickstarted everything though. The doors burst open, and Shuchi felt himself move, stepping around the small piles of books to see what everyone was screaming at. 

He almost wished he hadn’t. 

Lying there, motionless, was Rantaro Amami. His hair was matted with blood, staining the green locks that covered his head, as well as his hand and the side of his face. Whatever had hit him, it’d been brutal. Shuichi let his eyes drag over the scene, drifting from the body to the small round object nearby; a shotput, covered in blood, most likely the murder weapon. But-

 

There were four sets of footsteps, all running in from the game room, yet Shuichi didn’t even bother to look at them. Even Gonta’s scream was nothing more than white noise as his gaze drifted away from the dead body laying before him. Still there, at the top of the ladder, was Rantaro, watching them all with a bored expression.

“No way...” Shuichi breathed, making eye contact with the Rantaro upon the ladder. He stiffened, boredom changing to shock as he sat up straight, lifting his chin from his hands. Slowly, Shuichi tore his gaze away, bending down to hold his hand near the limp Rantaro’s mouth, hoping to feel some breath or anything. “...We’re too late...”

They all began to talk, voices mingling together, yet Shuichi just kept looking at the ladder where the other Rantaro was. Shuichi stared, and Rantaro stared back, both entranced and shocked by each other. The Rantaro on the ladder opened his mouth to speak, voice almost impossible to hear over the squabbling beside him. _“Can you... see me?”_

Shuichi moved to respond but stopped, instead settling for a curt nod. Kaede turned to him, finishing a sentence about the Mastermind, and Shuichi scrambled to finish it. “If Rantaro was the Mastermind-”

He was cut off, as the chime of the school bells began to sound, ringing through the room through the speakers of those monitors that only minutes ago had been screeching some unpleasant tune. It caught them all off-guard, heads turning to the monitor which had swivelled around to face them.

 

“A body has been discovered!”  
Monokuma’s tune was cheery as he sat at a desk, high-class dishes set out before him, accompanied by a bottle of champagne cooling in both the bucket and the glass in his hand. “Please gather in the Library.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big endgame spoilers down here, so if you're planning on reading ahead, I highly suggest you've finished DRV3  
> To those who are reading this, thank you! I'm glad you've enjoyed this enough to make it to chapter 2. I won't promise a schedule or anything, but I do hope that I'll be able to make another post in a few weeks time. University just started alongside this fic, so balancing the two will be difficult.
> 
> Anyway, I hope Shuichi doesn't do anything embarrassing that makes people look at him.

"A body has been discovered! Please gather in the Library!"

 

The screen flickered off and without a moment to take in the information, Monokuma appeared, grinning far more than usual. “What a relief,” he sighed, oblivious to the shocked expressions set on him. “A murder took place just before time ran out.”

Kaede’s words blurred into nothing as a flurry of thought overtook Shuichi’s mind. Rantaro was dead, and Monokuma was still up and about. That meant Rantaro wasn’t the Mastermind, and that whoever it was, they were still around, relishing in this Killing Game. Monokuma’s laughter momentarily distracted him, with a gleeful confirmation of his suspicions, but the rest of the conversation Shuichi blocked out, accidentally missing Kaede’s comment to him.

_“You can’t just stare at me forever,”_ Rantaro warned from the top of the ladder, tone serious despite the smile on his face. It seemed Shuichi hadn’t even realized his gaze was drifting. _“They might think you’re the culprit.”_

Shuichi placed a hand to his chest. “But I’m not the culprit,” he said, gaze firm beneath the brim of his cap. 

“We... never said you were...” Kaito was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Shuichi tensed, turning to face the gathered students. Their gazes were a mix of confusion and skepticism, and he laughed awkwardly at it. “Are you okay? That body gettin’ to you?” 

Kaito moved closer to Shuichi, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you-”

“The camera!” He took a step, slipping out of Kaito’s grasp and stepping over Rantaro’s body. There was a sigh of disapproval from said man, but Shuichi ignored it as he pulled the camera free from the bookcase, noting that it was stuck down rather well. “If we can develop the film-”

 

Tsumugi screamed, startling them all, Shuichi included. He stumbled, tripping over Rantaro’s body and falling flat on his behind, head slamming into the shelf that had initially shielded their eyes from the crime scene. “Ouch...”

Above him, Rantaro on the ladder snickered. 

The impact wasn’t awfully painful, but he did miss the initial shocked reactions of everyone as he got back to his feet, brushing himself off and making sure he hadn’t disrupted the crime scene. Luckily it seemed he’d only gotten his foot caught on part of Rantaro’s shoulder, leaving everything more-or-less in tact.

“Someone get this fuckin’ klutz away from Guacamole’s body, will ya?” Miu shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Shuichi. “He’s probably trying to mess with the evidence, aren’t you Shit-ichi?”

Kaede raised her voice to argue and soon the two were going at it, words mingling with the surprised reactions of those few who hadn’t seen the crime scene yet. Kaito carefully stepped over Rantaro’s cooling body and gently guided Shuichi away to the middle of the library where there would be significantly less evidence to trip over.  
“You feeling okay? You’ve been weird since we came down here. Now I know a body isn’t what we expected to see, and we’re not all crime scene masters but, if you’re feeling unwell-”

 

Monokuma’s voice cut through their conversation, silencing the room immediately and ruining the caring mood Kaito was trying to craft.. “If you killed Rantaro, go ahead and raise your hand! The First Blood perk is still available if you call in now!”

The room was silent. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Slowly, the room’s gaze began to settle on Shuichi; Tsumugi leading the pack. She was covering her mouth slightly, eyes wide and gaze horrified, and as the rest of the room saw where she was looking, they too began to follow.

_“It was Tsumugi, by the way.”_

Shuichi turned to the ladder fast enough to pinch a nerve in his neck, making him wince. His reaction had everyone following, although not nearly as fast, all their eyes on the ladder, yet it seemed only Shuichi could see Rantaro up there, pointing at Tsumugi with a blank expression.

“Tsu-”

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!” It was a collective call that broke the room’s tension. There were soft sighs as the Monokubs appeared, standing tall on the short bookcase hiding Rantaro’s body. They grinned their trademark grin and Shuichi rubbed at his eyes, just wanting the day to end.

Monotaro took the lead, arms crossed as he looked at everyone. “You’re going to give up a free murder?”

Monophanie trembled, arms wrapped around herself. “Maybe they feel as bad about the body as I do...”

“I bet Monodam did it but’s too fuckin’ scared to confess!” Monokid slapped the back of Monodam’s head, laughing as if he’d told the funniest joke. “But at least the trial’ll be fun as hell!”

There was no answer from Monodam as he looked to his siblings uneasily. Monosuke didn’t bother to comment, counting the notes in his hand and preparing for the small round of internal betting between the Monokubs as for who would be the culprit.

 

The silence hung thick and heavy, and Monotaro once again took the lead, clearing his throat. “Father, does this mean we’re having a trial?”

Everyone turned to look at Monokuma, who thoughtfully tapped on his chin. “Since nobody’s stepping forward...” He paused, relishing the wave of horrified understanding sweeping across the participants. “...I guess we’ll be holding a Class Trial!”

A roar of joy rose up from the Monokubs, while Shuichi merely shook his head, looking to Rantaro for some kind of support. Instead, all he received was a somber smile and a shrug. “Sorry. I can’t stop the trial.”

“Now hold on!” Kaito turned to face the Monokubs, a hand resting on Shuichi’s shoulder. It was comforting, and he assumed that Kaito was offering it due to the not-entirely-subtle suspicion that he was the culprit. “What the hell are you talking about? Class Trial?”

Monosuke tucked his notes away and raised a hand victoriously. “Like we said, a Class Trial, so you bastards can find out who killed Rantaro!”

Shuichi tensed. His gaze was still on the ladder, watching Rantaro sigh and shrug. _“You can’t just tell them it’s Tsumugi. You don’t have proof.”_

“Get it right, and only the Blackened gets punished,” Monotaro followed, oblivious to the fact Rantaro had ever spoken. “But get it wrong-”

“Dissected! Destroyed! Decapitated!” It was sickening how joyful Monokid was describing the ways they’d die, and even Monophanie covered her mouth, shuffling closer to Monotaro in search of some comfort. “Everyone but the Blackened dies!”

 

An uneasy murmur spread across the group. If they failed to find the true culprit, then their lives would be forfeit. They would die, and the real killer would escape. Shuichi balled his fists and grit his teeth, looking at Tsumugi with a firm, hateful gaze that she didn’t seem to notice, or if she did, shrugged away without any effort.

“It seems the culprit has no need for the First Blood perk,” Monokuma announced, hands covering his mouth in a poor attempt to hide his smirk. “Class Trial it is then! You all best get to investigating, otherwise you won’t be able to argue who did it!”

Ryoma sighed, clearly exhausted with Monokuma. “So we have to investigate as well?”

“Well duh, that’s the best part,” Monokuma chided, tapping Ryoma on the nose. Had violence against him not been prohibited earlier, Shuichi was sure the former tennis star would have knocked Monokuma into next week. “You guys are gonna investigate this crime and uncover the truth! The Trial will start soon, so you all better get to it!”

And with that they bowed out, Monokuma waddling away with haste and the Monokubs following close behind, vanishing behind a stack of books without a trace. Kaito struggled to form words, and Shuichi softly laughed, patting the hand resting on his shoulder.

 

“Alright!” Kokichi jumped for joy, making Gonta and Kaede take a step back in surprise. “Let’s get investigating!”

His chipper attitude sparked conversation, and everyone began to debate about where to start investigating, the ethics of it, about disrespecting the dead versus finding the truth.

_“I’m fine with them touching the body,”_ Rantaro said, no longer atop the ladder and now beside Shuichi.

Shuichi screamed.

Only a few heads turned this time, most of the group merely assuming this corpse was having effects on Shuichi. He did attract the attention of Kokichi, Kaede, Himiko, and Kirumi though, who all looked at him strangely while Kaito placed a hand over Shuichi’s mouth. “Quit screaming, will ya? It’s not doing you any good.”

The words were muffled from beneath Kaito’s hand as Shuichi tried to voice his complaints, but it did nothing as he found himself being escorted from the Library, camera still in his hand. Rantaro followed along, hands in his pockets as he watched Shuichi glare at him, shouting muffled accusations from beneath Kaito’s palm.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really have a beta reader, so if the structure feels wonky or if there's an error, please let me know.
> 
> Also this idea came to me from this piece of art (Major Chapter 5 spoilers)  
> https://chocokayke.tumblr.com/post/176238801907


End file.
